Welcome To Ellis Island!

May 25th, 2012 by ninja



Mika’s has been studying the history of the city of New York throughout second grade, and her class invited all families over to a hands-on Ellis Island immigration experience. The kids split up in five main inspection stations: arrival, baggage check, health & mental check, legal & background check, and passport control. Visiting family members got to experience all stations, one at a time. Each team of “inspectors” gave a demonstration on how their particular screening process worked. All kids loved to send people who didn’t meet their criteria into detention. For example, Sung’s (pre-packed) luggage contained an ax (!)  He tried to declare it as ‘nail clippers’, but got detained right away. I was one dollar short of having the required $25 in cash, but a forgiving inspector took pity, handed me the missing bill, and let me in … phew!

Following the event, we all shared breakfast together and gave her teacher – 9 months pregnant – a going-away gift: hand painted onesies and t-shirts from each student, along with the parents’ appreciation gifts. Fun fact: this is Mika’s third year in elementary school, and every single one of her teachers has been giving birth towards the end of the school year.

Posted in Daily Musings, Photos



One Comment

  1. JLee responded on May 30th, 2012 at 1:55 pm


    Time to book a trip to see the Statue of Liberty!